Scottish Charity No. SCOO7072 Our Hymn of Hope & (Tune: Hosanna, loud Hosanna!) e We’re looking for a Minister of Sacrament and Word; Denny Westpark One who’ll dearly love us, one who clearly loves the Lord. You’ll need a sense of humour and the meekness of a lamb, The patience of a donkey when with Harry, Dot or Tam! The hide of a rhinoceros would come in handy too When people are insistent that you hear their point of view. You’ll work like any beaver, you’ll be stronger than an ox, And you’ll listen with attention to the one who talks and talks. You’ll work with other churches that make up West, We’re all in this together and we must do our best to care for one another and promote real unity within the Church of Jesus and the whole community. When it comes to preaching, we know you’ll do your bit; to comfort or to challenge, just as you see fit. People will respond to you, their comments will be many; And rest assured your sermon will be talked about in Denny. So what have we to offer? we thought you’d never ask. The pages of this profile describe our mammoth task. We need YOU to help us - man? woman? - we’re not fussed! We will pledge our loyalty, our love and mutual trust!

www.westparkchurch.btck.co.uk Clerk: Etta Eadie t: 01324 823 962 IM: Rev Phyllis Wilson e: [email protected] t: 01324 832 257 e: [email protected] Overview of Denny

“Denny is not the bonniest of places at the moment. Denny’s beauty is to be found in its people!”

Rev Phyllis Wilson, Overview of Denny Interim Moderator

Denny (: Deanaidh) is a town in the Falkirk council area of , formerly in the county of . It is situated 7 miles (11 km) west of Falkirk, and 6 miles (9.7 km) north-east of , adjacent to both the M80 and M876 motorways.

Denny is separated from neighbouring village by the River Carron. The Denny and Dunipace area has a population of around 12,570 and comprises Denny, Dunipace, , Stoneywood and .

Until the early 1980s, Denny was a centre for heavy industry, including Building work on our new Town Centre several iron foundries, brickworks, a coal mine and paper mills. Nowadays Denny is a commuter town for the neighbouring town of is scheduled to start before 2015 Falkirk and the cities of , and . Denny Westpark Church resulted from the churches in the Falkirk West area to consider the Presbytery Plan. amalgamation of Denny Broompark Church and We needed to reduce the number of full-time ministries from five to Denny West Church in 1963. The newly united four. After many meetings and much discussion: congregation meets in the building previously used by Denny West Church. Falkirk West Zone - It was agreed that and Westpark be regarded This year, the united congregation is 50 years old! as charges in full tenure and that further adjustment be negotiated We thank God for the ministries of Revs Dugald McTaggart, George Chalmers, Douglas Cranston, amongst all the charges of the zone to determine the most appropriate Mark Johnstone and Drew Barrie. linkage partnership for . 4 Posts (for the avoidance of doubt the We’re also very proud of five of our young people negotiation is to reduce the present paid ministry positions from 5 to 4) who have become Church of Scotland Ministers – Bill Thomson, Fiona Nicholson, Bryan Kerr, Andrew After nearly three years of vacancy, Westpark now has permission McMillan and Drew Barrie. to call a Minister on an unrestricted basis. Representatives of the five congregations have met and a facilitator is being sought. The parish

Parish of Westpark Three years ago, we met with the other four boundary map above has been taken from the Presbytery website. Our aim and prayer Our present Mission Statement needs to be revised, but, basically, our aim is: O God, make the doors of our church wide enough to receive all who need human love and To bring Christ to the community; friendship but narrow enough to shut out all To bring the community to Christ. envy, pride and strife. May the threshold be smooth enough to be no

The prayer opposite reflects our deepest longing. stumbling block to children, or a barrier to the We’d like to share it with you. elderly or disabled. Let them be rugged and strong to turn away the tempter’s power, but open and inviting to those who are your guests. O God, make our church’s doors the gateway to your Eternal kingdom. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen Music is a key part of our worship. We are fortunate to have an Allen organ, an enthusiastic choir who lead us in worship each Sunday and an organist

who is accomplished in both traditional and Public Worship contemporary hymns. We have a praise band who help lead worship at all-age services. A printed order of service which includes the hymns is available each Sunday. A recently formed Westpark Teen Squad of young people contribute to music, art and drama, as well as promoting Fairtrade within the church and parish. Tea, coffee and juice are served after Sunday worship which allows time for fellowship. We have a PA system and there is a induction loop for those with hearing difficulties. Services are recorded for those who are unable to attend church. A short midweek service takes place each Wednesday morning after a time of fellowship. This service begins at 11.15am and lasts for 30 minutes. Around forty members and friends attend regularly. During the vacancy this service has been led mainly by our Elders with the assistance of our Locum. Carols and Christingles at our Communion is celebrated on the first Sundays of March, June, September and December and also at service on Christmas morning 2012 the Wednesday Welcome the following week. An short Communion takes place at the start of each year. Public Worship takes place each Sunday morning at 10.30am. Members of our church are part of a united choir Children who attend Kidzone join us in the church for the first part of who sing at a number of services throughout the the service, before heading to the McTaggart Hall for their activities. year including our joint Remembrance Service in the Members of the congregation are actively involved in Sunday town centre. The churches in the town work worship, welcoming worshippers as they arrive, taking part in our together in Holy Week with services taking place call to worship, reading the Bible and leading prayers. They are each evening, a Walk of Witness on Good Friday joined by the children to uplift the offering. Attendance at our Sunday plus an early morning Easter service and Easter services is usually around 120 people breakfast. Monday Thursday • Monday Club for the young at heart • Open Door Cafe • Guides, Brownies and Rainbows • Toc H Club • Appointment with God Prayer Group Tuesday • Toddlers Group Friday • Guild • Toddlers • Badminton Club

Wednesday • Wednesday Welcome • Boys Brigade Other organisations who use our halls • Home Bible Study Group on a weekly basis are Tae Kwon Do and Aberlour Child Care Trust Church Organisations Kirk SessionKirk Session Our Buildings

25 men and women form the leadership team of our congregation. They are sub-divided into five Action Teams taking responsibility for: On entering the Church there is access to the Sanctuary at • Worship (in conjunction with the Minister) ground level. • Pastoral Care There is a balcony above the • Stewardship (our Stewardship Season is in Lent each year) entrance to the Sanctuary. Adjacent to the Sanctuary, • Outreach there is a suite of 2 halls. The • Education larger of these is well used by various organisations (Boys’ Brigade, Girl Guides, Badminton etc.) and for larger social functions. The smaller hall is used for Kidzone on Sundays and Committee meetings, Guild and some social functions.

There is a modern kitchen and toilets adjacent to the halls. Our Education Team works closely with Nethermains PS, a relationship which we are keen to maintain and develop. Reading In addition, there Is an older hall helpers visit the school weekly. The Thumbs Up lunch-time club meets (with kitchen/toilet/office) at the on Mondays. This year’s Easter Code for P7s is pictured above. back of the Church. This year’s Summer Misssion takes place in August. It will be based Westpark Manse is located in on the Scripture Union material, Space Academy. Baxter Crescent, Denny, a secluded cul-de sac, approx. In conjunction with other churches in the town, the Kirk Session is 10-15 minutes walk from Westpark exploring Food banks and other ways of reaching out to the Church in Duke Street. homeless in our community. The manse is a substantial Last year’s Kirk Session get-together was entitled detached villa built circa 1970, “Cheers’n’Challenges”. We have much to be cheerful about, but with a detached garage in the we’re not blind to the challenges that face the Church in today’s grounds at the side of the Manse. world. Global Perspective Antony and Darya Short along with their children, 2011 2012 Joelle & Ezra, are annual Finance visitors to Westpark. Total income £97,726 £111,982 This table shows details of Antony is Head Teacher at Tabeetha School in Jaffa. Total expenditure £99,670 £104,528 our income and We are linking with the expenditure over the last Difference - £1944 + £7454 Church in Bochum two years. (Germany).

Social Events/Fundraising

Members of our Social Committee organise a number of social and fundraising events which take place throughout the year. Betty, our Session Clerk, Blythswood Care In January we hold an & her husband Jim at shoeboxes annual Burns Evening with the Bridge Cross. for Romania. Scottish fare, speeches and entertainment. This is greatly enjoyed by everyone and Annual Burns Evening gives opportunity for fellowship with friends.

We have our Autumn Fayre in September of each year with a variety of stalls. We also have three coffee mornings for our fabric fund in March, June and December.

Regular outings for some of our older members are organised with our church minibus. These include trips to the cinema, visits to garden centres, lunch dates and shopping expeditions.

BB Boys take part in the Big Sing for Christian Aid. A new library will provide an important community facility at the heart of Local Information the proposed new development What Denny Provides

• 3 primary schools (2 within walking distance ofthe manse) • 1 High school under 5 years old. • Swimming pool, Astroturf and sports department within the school for community use • Also a separate sports centre • Variety of good local shops • 2 smaller supermarkets – Sainsbury’s and Co-op • Day care nursery • Frequent bus service to and from Falkirk, Stirling and Glasgow • Trains to Edinburgh and Glasgow from , only 10 minutes away. • Denny is central for easy access to motorways which run North, East, South and West. • Good community library • There are 4 other churches in the area: Denny Old, Dunipace (both C of S churches), St Alexander’s RC Church and Denny Baptist Church. The local Ministers’ Fraternal meets monthly